Wingnut Week In Review: So Long, Eric Cantor

June 13, 2014

Terrance Heath

As House Minority Leader Eric Cantor exits stage right, it seems appropriate to recall some of his most memorable wingnut moments. And as David Bratt waits in the wings, it’s a good a time as any to consider that nights of wingnuttia he’s likely to reach.

But before he goes wherever his golden parachute takes him, let’s take a look back at Eric Cantor’s career as House Majority Leader. Just before the 2010 elections, Eric Cantor was hailed as one of the “young guns” of the GOP. He, along with Reps. Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy, represented a “new generation” of young(isn) conservatives who were the future of the GOP.

On a 2011 NPR interview about congressional battles over Social Security, Cantor said: “I mean, just from the very notion that it said that 50 percent of beneficiaries under the Social Security program use those monies as their sole source of income. So we’ve got to protect today’s seniors. But for the rest of us? For – you know, listen. We’re going to have to come to grips with the fact that these programs cannot exist if we want America to be what we want America to be.”

About Terrance Heath

Terrance Heath is the Online Producer at Campaign for America's Future. He has consulted on blogging and social media consultant for a number of organizations and agencies. He is a prominent activist on LGBT and HIV/AIDS issues.